Pain Without Reason
by PoisonBones
Summary: Hera makes a mistake. A deadly mistake, but she can't fix it. The damage is already done. A/N Rated T for violence and swearing
1. Beginning

_**Hey it's me PoisonBones. I got this idea when I was with my twin brother (yes believe it or not I'm a twin writing about twins and their sibling affection. That's why they're my favorite gods, I can relate to how Artemis feels.)And we were just goofing around together. I'm the only girl of four children so all of my brothers are **__**super**__** protective of me, so I was thinking kind of how Apollo is towards Artemis and sort of how Hera treats them differently because they're not hers. So I got this idea wrote it down, here it is. Please read and review, visit my profile and if you haven't already, read my story Jealousy. I love my followers, favorites make me smile. PM me if there is any suggestions you wanna make for a story, I would love to write about other people ideas, I will give you credit if you do so please do suggest some stuff NO INCEST!Aall comments, good or bad are accepted and appreciated, fix me on anything ask any questions I'm glad to help.**_

_**I have talked long enough, Enjoy!**_

Hera's POV

I kicked her once more in the ribs, good and hard. It was one thing to defy Zeus; it was another thing, to defy me. I had beaten her pretty badly, but red hot rage still boiled inside of me, and I hit her again, this time with me knuckles across her fare skinned face. Her blue chiton had been torn at the hem, blood poured from her lips and nose, dark bruising covered what was visible of her chest, which was quite a bit, for I had torn the sleeve and strap, and her ankle was quite possibly broken.

She had never looked worse. I raised my hands and motioned for her to be lifted to face me, and the invisible servants that had lingered at the edge of the garden when she had first angered me, immediately moved to do my bidding. They easily lifted her into a sitting position, and no matter how hard she resisted, no matter how much she knew it would pleasure me, Artemis let out a low moan, and rolled her silver eyes to look at me.

"Artemis, do you still have the nerve, to behead my statue in the center of my palace in Greece, in front of thousands of onlookers?" I asked lightly.

Artemis, ever fighter, did her best to regain her voice. I did not like her answer.

"G-g-go t-to hell. B-bitch." She stuttered horribly over her words, if it wasn't written all over her demolished face, I never would've known what she said.

I sighed and kicked her in her stomach. She released a howl of pain, but I continued. Again and again. 5 minutes passes quickly when you're enjoying yourself.

I gently reached down and pulled her chin up to face me from where she was pressed against the edge of the fountain, "Do you, Phoebe Artemis, still have the nerve, to defy and humiliate me in front of my people?"

Artemis' eyes swam a moment, but she managed a very weak, "No, Lady Hera."

"Good." I pulled my hands from her chin and turned back to my greenhouse. I waved a hand behind me, "Take her to her bed and leave her."

I stepped easily inside of my safe haven and closed the sound proof doors to the building, as to muffle the pathetic whimpers of the wounded goddess that was being lifted away from my home and to her own. Being as I couldn't hear the noise, I was quite content with watching her be carried away. At least I was. Until the very thought that hadn't graced my mind earlier struck me. Artemis had something most people would kill for. A born bodyguard. I turned and began to pace, trying to find a reason for me to be found beaten senseless myself by my husband when it happened. '_I need out of this.' _I thought '_He is going to kill me'_.

I paced all night, looking for a way to escape the blame.

Before Apollo lashed out like a solar flare.


	2. Who

_**Hey I'm back with next chapter for this fic, in case it isn't obvious. This is from Artemis' POV so heads up on feelings. P.S. bo0klover35 (my best friend, read her story The World) pointed out that I just happened to have made a little pun at the end of the last chapter with 'solar flare', and because of this correction I've noticed all of the little puns I have made in my other stories, so FYI most puns I make are unintentional. –PoisonBones**_

Artemis POV

I ached. Every crevice, every nook and cranny was throbbing with a burning pain. I gasped as I was dropped heavily on my bed, in the most uncomfortable position. My right leg was crumpled beneath me; my left arm was flipped and lay awkwardly at my side, and my ankle, Gods it_ hurt_.

'_How could I be so stupid?' _I thought, _'Of everyone to disrespect, I just had to choose Hera didn't I?'_

I lay still in my painful placement, not daring to challenge the agony that already incased my body. I don't know how long I sat there and scolded myself until I dozed off, but I woke to the sound of the door to the house opening and the soft padding of socked feet coming down the hallway.

_ 'Oh Gods' _Me and Apollo shared a house on the outskirts of Olympus, in a small clearing in the woods, where all the sun and moonlight possible can bathe the house at night and day, it was a truly beautiful thing, with floor to ceiling front windows and solar power on two floors and a large archery range around the back. But that's not important, what's important was the fact that if Apollo saw me like this he was going to beat Hera to high hell. But I couldn't lie to him, no matter how much I wanted too, I just couldn't.

Biting my lip to muffle my groans and whimpers, I flipped myself onto my back and lay there to wait for my brother, not caring that my chiton had been pushed up to my mid-thigh, revealing most of my bruised legs and my dark purple, almost black left ankle. I could hear him shifting around in the kitchen, moving things and quietly singing the lyrics to 'Somebody That I Used to Know'.

I released a sharp breath and yelped as a surge of pain and heat washed over me. The kitchen fell silent.

"Arty?" Apollo shouted down the hallway.

'_Damn' _I sighed in defeat, I hadn't really wanted him to find me _that_ fast, but he had found me and that was it.

"I'm in here." I called. I could hear him coming down the hallway to the bedroom, and I shifted uncomfortably.

Apollo stuck his blond head in the doorway and looked around. When his eyes landed me, he reacted just like I knew he would.

"What the fuck happened? Who did this? Who do I have to incinerate? Artemis, gods look at yourself, you're all bloody and your ankle- for Christ's sake what happened!?" Apollo pulled a chair up by my side, whipped up his medicine case and pulled me up to move me.

I winced. He saw it. "Sorry, you're going to have to lie on your stomach." He said gently, "Now what happened and who did this?"

I took a deep breath, "Look, before you get all worked up, let me just tell you, I deserved it."

"_My_ little sister doesn't deserve anything like this. Now who the hell did this?" He demanded as he flipped me onto my belly. I sighed with relief, for this position was not painful to sit in.

"I'll tell you when it doesn't hurt to talk." Apollo accepted my answer, for now. I sat still for him but I jolted when he began to loosen the ties on the back of my chiton.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I couldn't help but feel a little alert.

"You have to take it off." He answered and continued to work.

"Why?"

"So I can get to your cuts. Now hold still."

"I don't want you to take it off!"

"Okay," Apollo turned his back to me and leaned against the bed frame, his back to me, "I can just leave those cuts untreated and they can get infected and swollen and fill up with pus. Your skin can slowly rot away around them and you can be in 10 times the pain you're in now, which I can see is quite a bit, since you're not doing a very good job of hiding it."

I closed my eyes, '_that bastard, I'm gonna strangle him once I feel better'_ I thought. I really hated my medicine-nerd brother right about now, not because he was annoying (which he totally was) but because he was right.

I gritted my teeth, "Apollo. Please help me."

Accepting my apology, my brother stood and started again on the back of my chiton and pulled it down to my waist. I hissed as something cold touched my back, but I did not complain, he was helping me, so I had to suck it up.

Apollo worked in silence for a good 20 minutes. He washed my cut and put some yellow stuff on them that made them go numb and painless. He had to remove the rest of my chiton, which I was not happy about, leaving me in my bra and underwear. In a strange way, I was comforted that it was Apollo seeing me this way, and not anybody else, because he was my brother. And we spent nine months in mama Leto's womb pressed buck naked against each other, so I think one half dressed and the other full is quite a step up don't you think?

I now lay quiet and comfortable on my back. My comfort was quickly broken when an electric like wave shot up my leg. "What's going on? Why does it hurt so much?" I asked cautiously. "Is it broken?"

"No," Apollo said, "But the muscle is torn away from the bone. I'm going to need ice, and more bandages. Stay here."

"Oh yeah, I'm going somewhere, cause I'm just in spit-spot shape aren't I?" I snapped. I immediately regretted it. He was going to fix this and I was being a complete bitch. I'm so smart, sometimes I amaze myself! In case you can't tell, I was being sarcastic.

Luckily Apollo was out of the room before he could hear my comment. At least I hope so. I took the time to examine my foot while he was gone. It was purple all over and was swollen to twice its original size. I grimaced at the sight and laid back down as Apollo returned carrying a Ziploc bag full of ice with a washcloth wrapped around it in one hand, and a roll of ace bandage in the other. He sat down beside me and bound my foot tightly with the ace and applied the ice to it. He stood and went over to my dresser. He pulled open the top drawer and brought out a dark green nightgown.

"Sit up." He said as he returned to the bedside. I did as I was told, and allowed him to put it over my head and help me pull my arms through like I was a young child.

He sat down beside me again and looked right I into my silver eyes with his baby blue ones.

"Now, I cleaned you up, I put you in clean clothes. Tell me who did it." Apollo had never looked so . . . . scary.

I gulped, "Um, Apollo…"

"No. Tell me who did it." I looked back into his eyes. There was no use in arguing with him.

"I beheaded her statue in Greece in front of the whole population, and 3 emperors."

"Who?"

"Hera." Apollo stared at me for a solid ten seconds before he burst.

"Hera? Where in the hell did she get the idea that it was alright to _beat_ someone for a damn statue?" He yelled, standing so fast he knocked his chair over. "I'm going to throw her straight into the sun! I'm gonna throw all her statues into erupting volcanoes! She is dead!" He spurted angrily.

"We're immortal, we can't die."

"That's exactly the point!"

By this point in time, it was useless to keep anything from him, so I told him the full truth, "She broke my arrows too. The ones you made for me."

Apollo turned in fury to the door, "Oh, that evil witch I'm gonna wring her neck!"

The next thing I knew the door was banging shut behind my brother. I leaned back against my pillows.

'_Oh Gods, what have I done?'_


	3. Witness

Apollo's POV

I stormed down the hallway with incredible speed. How dare Hera harm my sister for a petty statue of her ugly mug, I mean, the thing showed her with a blue steel with that gods-awful crown looking thingy on her head. Who wants to see that? I sure as hell didn't.

I yanked open the door to her get away cottage on the palaces borders, where she stayed when her and father were fighting. I clenched and unclenched my fists, but frowned as I dropped something. I stopped and looked down at the ground. I mentally face palmed. In my rush to go get revenge for my sister, I had forgotten to put down the half roll of ace bandage that I had balled up in my hand. Whatever. I turned and continued towards my destination. Hera was always in her garden this time of night.

I was angry. I really wanted to hit something, and now that I was standing on the marble floor of her home and the sweet smell of her favorite flower, honeysuckle, filled my nose. A large bouquet of the yellow petals was in a vase on top of a stone pillar to my right. I stared at them, and thought of her face. I didn't mean to light them on fire, but I did and I didn't regret it. I walked forward without an actual reality of what I was doing, and I ran into something. I turned to face a statue of the great Queen Hera herself. It was beautiful, carved out of obsidian and detailed lightly with gold. Gold. I snarled, how could _my _color end up on such a gorgeous statue of such an ugly thing? Insulted, I slammed my fist into the face of the damned thing. Almost instantly it cracked all the way through out. I punched it once more, and it fell in black and gold slivers onto the floor.

I stared for a second then kept walking. It felt good to hit something, but it was nothing compared to what Hera's _real_ face would feel against my knuckles. I would find out soon enough. Because nobody touched my sister, _nobody._

I did not notice the raven-haired messenger god, who had been cowering behind a vine of orchids witnessing the whole thing, as he took off around the corner towards the throne room muttering, "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit he is mad gotta tell Zeus."

Hermes POV

I'd never thought so much rage could twist into my older brothers face. And watching him compact a statue of Hera to smithereens was not comforting in the least amount of ways. I hurried down the hall and couldn't help but wonder what had angered him so much at Hera, but I knew damn right and well that if I didn't get somebody to keep him from bashing her face in (I'd do it but to tell the truth, I was terrified of him when he got like this. He was a lot like Artemis in the way of his temper, though she gets set off much faster than he did) something very, very, very bad was going to happen to my brother, and I didn't want that to happen because if he left I would be forced to spend my days with Hephaestus. In other words, I'd start talking to walls.

I burst out the front door and snapped my fingers. I landed in front of Zeus, who was focusing intently on the clock in the center of the room.

"Lord Zeus?" I called lightly. He didn't answer. I tried again, "Lord Zeus?"

Once again he was silent, lost in the thoughts and deeps nests of brooding that filled his brain. Maybe that was why Athena was so smart, she had all of Zeus's thought in her knowledge. But she infact knew how to use them wisely, most of the time, usually she was just muttering to herself about random things.

They did him no good though, and he remained quiet. I didn't have time for that, and I tried the last resort word we only use when the situation was dire, which it was.

"Father?" I called a little louder than I had before, and he looked down on me.

"What brings you here Hermes?" His deep voice boomed around the room and bounced off of the high ceiling, almost making me wince.

"There's trouble?" I said nervously.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Um, well… you see…"

**Hey it's me PoisonBones! This is just a little piece on Apollo to show just a little bit of his full rage and how our favorite messenger god reacts (Okay, I know what you're thinkin' 'He's the only messenger god' but I want to call him everyones favorite, so HA!) to his angry little outburst. P.S Please give a round of applause to **_**my **_**twin brother, because he helped me write this! Please read and review an tell me what you thought, I like it how about you? All I want to say for now so, GOODNIGHT!**

**-PoisonBones**


	4. Revenge

**Hey it's me PoisonBones, just coming in to make sense of the 2****nd**** chapter. I've had a couple come ask me why Apollo didn't just work his magic and fix up Artemis in like two seconds. I can explain that. In the books, after Percy and Ares fight and Percy stabs Ares through the ankle, if Ares went back to Olympus after that, why didn't Apollo just fix his ankle up like that? I'm thinking maybe Apollo either can't use his abilities on other gods/goddesses because they're immune to it, or it's forbidden. Just lightening that up. This chapter is about Apollo's revenge (I plan to be truly evil to Hera MWAHAHAHAHAHA) Please enjoy!**

Hera's POV

How long does it take to blink? Try it. Not long right? Now split that time in half. That's about as long as I had to register who had stormed into my garden before the searing pain started to fill my shoulder and black spots danced in front of my eyes. I think Apollo had thrown me into the marble column to the left, but, believe it or not, it's pretty hard to make sense of that kind of stuff when your arm feels about ready to fall off. I hardly had time to feel my wound out when another explosion of pain burst through me, this time in my lower jaw. Apollo's blonde hair was tousled, and his piercing blue eyes were swimming with fury.

Blood began to rush from my nose, and it was steadily making its way down to collect upon my upper lip, before rushing in river across mouth and to the end of my chin. I inhaled the blood that was filling my mouth as Apollo kicked me in the ribs repeatedly, causing me to cough and wheeze. He pulled me up roughly by the shoulders and slammed the side of my head into the column and then without a pause, put his foot firmly on my ankle, and practically turned it in a 360 degree turns. I couldn't bite my tongue anymore, I wailed in pain. Apollo put his hand over my mouth and removed his foot from my ankle and slowly lowered me to the ground slowly.

He laid me down on my back, and I could feel every broken rib, every popped vessel, every forming bruise. Apollo stared down at me. "Hera, that was for my sister. I have broken 8 of your ribs, your ankle is broken and the muscle is torn from the bone. Your shoulder is dislocated and you have a concussion." His voice was bold and clear, with an explaining tone. My breath hitched in my throat, I was horrified. Apollo had not been beating without thought. He had known what he was doing; he knew what he was doing to me. He had known exactly where to kick and where to hit to cause as much pain as possible without killing or paralyzing me. He was the god of healing after all, and with no doubt I knew he had every crevice of the human, or in this case gods, body engraved into memory.

He disappeared from my sight. He was leaving me here to be in pain alone. And I was. My shoulder and my head were both throbbing with an incredible misery. And my ankle burned. It felt as though so someone had shoved my entire leg into Hephaestus' many forges.

Though it hurt to move, I jumped quite a bit when someone touched me. I shifted the best I could to see who it was, and I was puzzled beyond explanation.

Apollo was bent down beside me, cleaning my open cuts with antiseptic and stopping the bleeding. Why was he helping me? He had just beaten me senseless and he was helping care for my wounds?

"Apollo." My voice came out as a raspy and small squeak. Not to intimidating if you ask me.

"Hold still." My step-sons voice was quiet but firm; and I held still for a full five minutes.

"Apollo?" My voice was slightly stronger this time, and I was smug on this fact, being as earlier I had sounded like a mouse that had been put in the microwave.

Apollo looked up at me, a look of anger and annoyance present on his handsome face. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm fixing you." He looked back down at his delicate work

I was so confused. _Why _was he helping me? "Why? I thought you would just leave me here to wait for whoever comes this way next."

He looked back up, his gaze catching mine. He was no longer irritated, and a strangely calm and tense expression was set into his face. "You did that to Artemis."

"Yes. So why not do it to me?" His face tensed to the fact where it was obvious he was restraining himself from hurting me more.

"Because I will not _sink_ to your _pathetic _level." He spit the words out at me. He was silent a moment, and then he lifted me from the ground.

"What are you doing?" I gasped as pain shot through me like waves.

"I'm finished with you, and if I have to listen to your voice for even a minute longer I will be sick." He carried me into my garden home. He walked down the marble hallways with me in his arms, holding me bridle style, but purposely making it uncomfortable. He turned a corner and pushed open the door to the bedroom. Holding me 3 feet above the bed, he dropped me. I hissed in pain as my body hit the firm mattress.

Apollo disappeared in a flash of light, leaving me alone in my own silence.

Zeus POV

Down on earth, I don't know how mortals react to the note of their son's anger, knowing that the worst they could do is murder. But up here, when one of my sons is angered, the best thing you can do is lock them in a padded room with a straight jacket on. Because with great power comes great responsibility. And in case you haven't noticed, none of us really have any responsibility when we're in a _good_ mood. So guess what happens when one of us gets angry? Our sanity goes down the drain and we explode. Or implode, I don't really know how it works, none of us has ever gotten that pissed before.

But this was a chance for that lesson, because Apollo was angry for a specific reason.

When Hermes told me about Apollo's state of mind, we had gone straight to Artemis, trusting that she should know the reason. We had found her staring at the ceiling, bruised and bandaged, with worry etched into her usually stoic face. She had told me what happened. She told me _everything_, down to the last detail. But I wasn't angry at Artemis for ruining Hera's statue or at my son who was no doubt ragging on my wife. I was angry at Hera. How dare she assault my children for something as petty as a statue. But I would not punish her, I was pretty sure Apollo had done that already. No, I would give her my mind and leave things be. The last thing needed on Olympus right now was two angry, and quite powerful, gods upset with each other.

I had sent Hermes back to his quarters and told him to stay put, and leave Apollo alone at all costs, while I went to investigate the crime scene.

There was god's blood on the large marble pillar, but that was about it. Not much to go on. I marched into her home and brought myself to her bedroom door. Rolling my neck, I took a deep breath and stepped inside. My wife was laid back on the bed, and as I entered her gaze came to me.

For a moment, I said nothing, just stared down at her. Then I spoke.

"I am disappointed in you Hera."

"I suppose you know what happened?"

"Ever little detail."

"What did you expect me to do?"

"Forgive and forget?"

"She decapitated my stat-!"

"I will not let something as worthless as a statue come between the people I am in charge of, and especially not my own wife and our daughter."

"She is your daughter, not mine."

"You are the goddess of family. You are no less of a mother to the twins as you are to Hebe."

"I refuse to accept that burden."

"They are not burdens," I was disgusted with Hera's behavior to those two, "They are some of the most wonderful children you will ever chance to let your eyes grace."

"They are no longer children Zeus. They are adults, and so is everyone else around here."

"If everyone here is an adult, and we act like adults should act, then something somewhere went terribly wrong."

"I merely taught her a lesson, like _adults_ should learn."

"I have heard enough about your petty morals Hera. Now this dilemma shall slide for now, but by Gaia's green grave if I hear another word of this I will lock the three of you in a room together and make about your feelings."

Hera was speechless for a solid thirty seconds before she spoke again.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me." With that snide remark I left. I wasn't going to visit the twins, they both needed their rest. I hadn't done much to solve this issue, and I didn't intend to do so further.

All I could do now was pray that Nemesis and Hades would show me mercy.

**Yo, I need 5 more reviews to update, so keep'em comin'! I don't get my reviews, you don't get your chapter. Deal?**


	5. Because I Care

**Hey, PoisonBones here. Remember last chap. When I said I wouldn't update without five reviews? Forget it, I can't wait for five reviews to finish this, it's too awesome! Here's the next chapter (Duh) A little while after all of the conflict, and how both Hera and Artemis are healing up. Hope you like! ;D -PoisonBones**

Artemis POV

It had been a month since the accident with Hera had occurred, and I had not seen her since. I had begged, shoved and threatened Apollo to tell me what had happened the night the whole thing went down, but my brother might as well have sewn his mouth shut, because all he did was deny, refuse, and change the subject. I was healing nicely however. My bruises had faded, and my cuts left no scars. As for my ankle, I had to wear a plaster cast for 8 weeks until the muscle re-attached to the bone and strengthened enough for me to run and walk normally, without me having to worry if it would tear away again. I could walk on it, though a little awkwardly, enough to get around without much help. And that was exactly what I was doing. Father Zeus had called a meeting due to the eclipse and we all had to be present. Apollo had come to trust me enough to let me walk on my own, but it seemed even when he was far away, he was always within falling distance.

I might as well have screamed with delight when I reached the throne room, it was the farthest I had walked in weeks. But of course all of that joy disappeared when I turned around and saw the several steps that lead to my seat. Stairs are hard when you can't bend your ankle.

I sighed. How was I going to get up? As if reading my thoughts, Apollo came out of nowhere, wrapped his arms around my torso, and lifted me up the steps and moved past me to his own seat and plugged his headphones into his ears. I steadily made my way to my throne, but scorned down on it when I got there. It seemed so far down to the ground, and no doubt it would jar my hurt foot when I sat. I didn't want to experience that pain. I looked around with a pout face, then with a final choice for a place to sit, flopped heavily and pulled myself in as not to rest on his bony knee into an unsuspecting gods lap. Apollo was so startled that all he did for a solid five seconds was stare at me in shock, then brought his arms around my waist and relaxed into his throne. I lay back against his chest and placed my head on his shoulder.

With my head so close to his, I could hear the music coming from his ear buds, and I almost laughed at the fact that I knew the tune. I reached over and pulled a headphone out of his ear and started to sing along.

_I was thinking 'bout her, Thinking 'bout me, Thinking 'bout us, What we gonna be Open my eyes, it was only just a dream So I travelled back down that road Will she come back? No one knows I realize, yeah, it was only just a dream_

Apollo listened to me, a look of amusement on his face. I nudged him, and he started singing along with me, our voices blending together in perfect harmony.

_I was at the top and now it's like I'm in the basement Number one spot now she found her a replacement I swear now I can't take it, knowin' somebody's got my baby And now you ain't around baby I can't think I should've put it down, should've got that ring Cause I can still feel it in the air See your pretty face run my fingers through your hair My lover, My life, My shawty, My wife She left me, I'm tied Cause I knew that it just ain't right_

I didn't notice that pretty much everyone had stopped to watch and listen to us, if Apollo noticed, he said nothing.

_I was thinking 'bout her, Thinking 'bout me, Thinking 'bout us, What we gonna be Open my eyes, yeah, it was only just a dream So I travelled back down that road Will she come back? No one knows I realize, yeah, it was only just a dream_

_When I be ridin' man, I swear I see her face at every turn Tryna get my Usher over, I can't let it burn And just hope she know she the only one I yearn for More and more I miss her When will I learn? Didn't give her all my love, I guess now I got my payback Now I'm in the club thinkin' all about my baby Hey, she was so easy to love But wait, I guess my love wasn't enough I'm going through it every time that I'm alone And now I'm missin', wishin' she'd pick up the phone But she made the decision that she wanted to move on Cause I was wrong_

Everyone was listening now.

_I was thinking 'bout her, Thinking 'bout me, Thinking 'bout us, What we gonna be Open my eyes, yeah, it was only just a dream So I travelled back down that road Will she come back? No one knows I realize, yeah, it was only just a dream_

_If you ever loved somebody put your hands up If you ever loved somebody put your hands up And now they're gone and you're wishin' you could give them everything Said if you ever loved somebody put your hands up If you ever loved somebody put your hands up Now they're gone and you're wishin' you could give them everything_

Aphrodite now had a stack of pictures as thick as my wrist, and Hermes was holding the video camera above his head for a better view.

_I was thinking 'bout her, Thinking 'bout me, Thinking 'bout us, What we gonna be Open my eyes, yeah, it was only just a dream So I travelled back down that road Will she come back? No one knows I realize, yeah, it was only just a dream_

_I was thinking 'bout her, Thinking 'bout me, Thinking 'bout us, What we gonna be Open my eyes, yeah, it was only just a dream So I travelled back down that road Will she come back? No one knows I realize, yeah, it was only just a dream_

There was a loud applause throughout the room. I could feel my face turning red, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. Everyone had heard me singing. I couldn't believe I just did that, Apollo was the only one who had ever heard me sing before, and now everyone had heard my gods-awful voice.

"Artemis, I never knew you could sing!" Athena exclaimed.

I removed my hand from my mouth and did the most civilized thing I could do right then, "I'm sorry you all had to hear my horrible voice."

"What do you mean?" Aphrodite looked at me, an expression of wonder on her beautiful face, "You sounded like an angel!"

"No I didn't." I pulled my hands up to shield my face and sank deeper into Apollo's warm embrace.

"Well ya' sure sound better than I do!" Aphrodite said planting her hands on her hips.

"You got that right." Ares muttered.

"You're not supposed to agree with me."

"Everyone to your seats, council is ready begin." Father's voice billowed throughout the palace as everyone scrambled to their thrones.

Zeus' eyes scanned the room to assure everyone was here, except for Hera. Her throne was empty; a thin layer of dust had begun to collect on the seat. When he finished attendance, the council began.

I will not bore you with the details of his speech, but I will give you the outline. Demeter's harvest had to be finished by September, Hestia needed to ready the hearths for winter, Athena needed to double check the curriculum before school starts again, Aphrodite needed to oversee as wedding in Colorado, and Apollo and I had to hold the total eclipse for 8 minutes before moving forward.

He scanned us over for a second before dismissing us, "Council adjourned."

Apollo moved to lift me and rose up a little bit.

"Apollo, Artemis, you two need to stay." Apollo paused, and then settled back down into his throne.

Father didn't speak until everyone had filed out to turn to us. He looked us both over, "Are you healing well?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Cuts and bruises gone away?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Dad," Apollo's voice was firm and even, "She's fine. How's bitch?"

"Language, Phoebus."

"Well, how is bitch?" I asked. I couldn't keep the impatient tone out of my voice, I couldn't even care that such a vulgar word had passed through my lips, I had been waiting to hear about Hera's condition since Apollo returned the night it happened.

Zeus stared at me, awed by my profanity, and then delivered his answer, "She…has been better. Her shoulder is still painful to her, and her ankle won't heal right."

My eyes widened, what Apollo done to her? Y'know what? I didn't even care. She hated me, why should I care about her?

"She'll heal soon, at least her shoulder will." Apollo's voice was barely audible against my shoulder, but Zeus heard it and let out a long sigh.

"You are dismissed." Father turned his back to us and began to stare into Hestia's hearth. Apollo and I exchanged looks of bemusement, but Apollo stood pulling me with him. He helped me down the stairs and let me walk the rest of the way out on my own. We passed thought the big double doors out into the hallway. We walked side by side in silence for a long while.

"It sounds like you hurt her pretty bad." I said finally looking up at my brother, who was walking slower as to stay beside my limping form. He looked down at me, his brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Hera. How bad did you hurt her?" He raised his head up again, focusing on the far wall and said nothing.

"Apollo."

"I gave her what she deserved," Apollo's voice was not hard and mean as he said this, but soft and gentle, "I hope she learned a lesson."

"You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did!" Apollo stopped in his tracks and whipped around to face me, all traces of his earlier docile tone gone, "I had to do it okay? I hate it when people touch you or get anywhere near you! I hate it when people hurt you, and you're fucking virgin goddess! People are just tempted to try, I hate it! So yeah, I had to do it godsdammit I had to." His voice cracked a little on that last line. Apollo took a deep breath and crossed his arms across his chest.

Call me cruel, but my smart mouth acted up, "Damn man, I thought Ares was bad about explosions, but shit, you put him to shame!"

Apollo turned and stalked away, grumbling something about how this was why he was never serious.

With a sigh I jogged as best I could to catch up with his long strides, "'Pollo, wait." He stopped again and I looked up into his eyes, "That was mean and I'm sorry. I know you hate it when people you don't trust touch me. Or get anywhere near for that matter."

"Since when do you care what I feel?" My brother's voice was back into its soft tone.

"Since forever."

"That's the biggest lie that has ever crossed your lips."

"No it's not." I paused for a second. It was time to come clean, I couldn't avoid it, and "I care. A lot. Your opinion matters a lot more to me than I make it seem, and I know I can be harsh at times but you are one of the most important people in my life and I would do anything for you."

Apollo's face lit up a little bit. But it was with a mischievous glint in his blue orbs that he spoke, "Wow. Artie, that was beautiful. Almost as good as R.G. Lee."

"Oh bite me; I did it because I care." I turned to walk away, but looked back at my brother once more and pointed a finger in his face, which he gracefully crossed his eyes to look at, "I never said that."

"Hey, no hard feelings." He held up his hands in mock surrender and backed off.

I playfully punched him in the arm, "Love you bro."

"Right back at ya' sis. Hey, I found some superglue in 'Thena's room."

"So?"

"_So_, we can go glue Hello Kitty and My Little Pony posters all over in Uncle Hades' room."

"He'll kill us."

"We can't die."

"Then he will make us miserable."

"I got leverage."

"What might that be?"

"I'm helping Nico with his math homework at night."

"Lucky bastard."

"You in?"

"Do I breathe?"

"Well, technically, no we don't have to breathe to live because we're immortal, but some of us do-!"

"Shut up and come on before I change my mind."

"Yes ma'am."

** Yeah, yeah crappy ending. This story is officially finished. FYI for those who don't know, R.G. Lee is a preacher/pastor who travels around America to give speeches about God, no offense to Christians in the way I wrote that; I respect your religion entirely. I do not own lyrics to 'Just A Dream' by Nelly. Thanks for readings, goodnight!**

** -PoisonBones**


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